Blown Ignition Fuse- No Luck with findings PLEASE HELP

[Callis60]

So last week I was riding to school bike died completely. The ignition fuse was blown. I put the spare fuse on to see whether it blew when I turned the ignition on or the kill switch on. It only blows when I hit the kill switch.....So far I've checked all the grounds and all wires on the harness. I have yet to find any frayed or broken. I bypassed the kill switch by connecting the two wires before the switch and the fuse still blows. It's a short to ground somewhere but I have yet to find it. The whole bike is stripped down. The next thing I'm going to do is disconnect the fuel pump and check if the fuse blows. Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chicknstripn]

Check the positive connection at the starter. If anything metal or conductive is touching that, you'll blow fuses all day long.
BTW have you checked all the connectors behind the front pulley gaurd? You'll have to actually pull those apart to make sure the pins aren't burned or what not.
Those are just my thoughts.
Keep us posted.

 

[theroadnottaken]

Pull the keys switch relay and the see if the fuse still blows. If it doesn't, then it's a bad relay. I got mine at autozone. The root cause was a bad battery, that fried the relay then sent the power straight to the ignition fuse, blowing it. I replaced the battery, then the relay and everything has been perfect.

 

[Callis60]

Ok so I think I just figured it out but I don't know. The fuse only blows when I put any of the 3 relays into the key switch relay spot. Does that mean all 3 relays are bad? Also all three relays on points 30, 87, and 87a have like a purpleish/dark brown burn mark look to them. Could they all be fried?

 

[theroadnottaken]

how's the battery? Maybe you should take it in and have it load tested. It could be low voltage to the relay.

 

[Callis60]

I'll do that tomorrow. Thanks for the advice!!

 

[Shawns]

Unlikely all are fried. If the terminals are loose in the fuse box for the relays, they will build up resistance and may be the issue you are having. Generally it would not blow right away. Usually a dead short will blow the fuse right away

 

[Callis60]

So the best thing would be to replace the whole relay housing?

 

[mrlogix]

before I replaced the whole relay housing I would get a multi-meter and check the output pin (I don't have a wiring schematic for the XB's, but someone here should be able to tell you) to ground. That will tell you if the relay housing is bad or if it's a short in the harness somewhere. Be sure to check the battery also as mentioned above.

 

[Shawns]

You might not have to replace the fuse box. If you have terminals that are loose you can repair them. I would check the wiring going to the terminals as stated above. Your going to need a manual to help you diagnose it properly. It is possible that one or more items that are on that circuit have an issue. Being that the fuse blows right away I would be looking at a short in the wire harness. You should be able to access a manual from the top of the page. I know on my 1125 that the headlights are on the same relay circuit as the starter. From the sounds of it, Your problem may be in the controls or the harness for them. Disconnect the controls and see what happens. Instead of throwing fuses at it, use a resettable breaker. There are manual one and ones that reset themselves when the short is gone. I am a bit of an electrical nerd, been working on car accessories and such for about 20yrs(god I'm old) so I will help you in any way I can. Just pm me.

 

[user_deleted]

also check:
is diode fuse installed correctly with arrow corresponding to schematic under fusebox lid?
ignition fuse continuously popping is almost always the result of a faulty ignition relay which very often is the result of a faulty voltage regulator.

 

[Callis60]

Yes the diode is facing the right direction and I replaced the ignition relay today and still the fuse blows. I guess possibly it could be the voltage regulator. I'm going to disconnect everything connected to the ignition switch circuit and see if I can pin point it better. It's nothing after the harness leaves the front fairing of the bike cause I already disconnected: the fuel injectors, fuel pump, IAT sensor.....etc and nothing changed I checked all the grounds it's gotta be either the relay box terminals or something is shorted to ground on the front of the bike

 

[user_deleted]

fully charge the battery...remove front belt sprocket cover (3 torx screws)...have known good ignition relay installed along with good correct amp rating ignition fuse. unplug the voltage regulator at the #77 connector plug behind pulley cover. now turn on key and run switch and see what you have.

 

[Chicknstripn]

Lunatic nails it! That's the stuff you probably haven't checked yet. I'd follow his advice.
I too think your voltage regulator might be the culprit now that you've tried so many other possibilities, which are still leading to dead ends.
Sounds like Shawns and Lunatic are your go to Buellers on this one. I can't stand electrical work!
Good luck

 

[Callis60]

I'll try that! I unscrewed te voltage regulator just to see if that would do anything but I didn't disconnect it so I'm going to try that. Thanks for the tips guys: I'll inform everyone of the results later

 

[user_deleted]

by doing what i suggested you are fully isolating the VR from the wiring circuit. faulty VR almost always burns up the ignition relay which then continuously shorts out ignition fuse.

 

[Callis60]

That makes a lot of sense because the old relay looks burnt but it still ohms out right at the coil

 

[Callis60]

So I disconnected the voltage regulator and the fuse stills blows right away. This time I even disconnected both headlights and it still blows right away. I guess it could possibly be the terminals then in either the fuse box or relay box. I'm completely running out of ideas

 

[mrlogix]

an ohm meter is your friend

 

[Callis60]

I know how to use a multi meter but I just don't know where to find the specs for ohm readings on the terminals haha